Re: choosing pain meds over surgery
From: Brenda (nancebln@earthlink.net)
Mon Apr 8 14:06:39 2002
At Mon, 8 Apr 2002, Jo Eslick wrote:
>
>Hi Em,
>
>Thanks for your great message, and I couldn't agree with you more... I
>really believe that at this time the best option is our own diversional
>therapies (anything that is relaxing or help takes our mind off pain, or
>reduces it's affect on how we function through a normal day) with a
>combination of pain medication. I have been doing that for almost
>twelve months!
>
>However :-( when my ovaries were removed last April.... one tiny little
>piece was left behind & I can't believe the havoc & pain this little
>spec of almost nothing has caused!
>
>I had been gradually getting worse (pain wise) over a period of months
>and was put on higher doses of pain meds and then switched to the slow
>release version of the same drug. I was in heaven! I was able to get
>back into activities with my girls (I have four), I was actually
>participating in the running of our own business and I did a few... just
>a few household chores...
>
>BUT enter the nasty ovary remnant... who made my body believe that my
>ovaries had simply switched off...not been removed, so my body started
>to produce all sorts of other chemicals and hormones to try and
>stimulate my hormones back to life.... mmmm well since they ain't
>there.... that wasn't what was happening! I was getting some pretty
>impressive sized cysts which would kinda just make my pain a little more
>than I could handle...and I can be pretty determined...
>
>4 weeks ago I visited my specialist for an outpatients visit because i
>was starting to feel as though something wasn't right, and that my pain
>was increasing & my new wonder drug and pain management routine was
>taking a nosedive. So we upped the meds, changed a few things around,
>had an internal (aren't they one of our favourite things? NOT!) I also
>had a vaginal ultrasound to confirm yep, you guessed it another cyst!
>*sigh* this one however was playing a new game called push into the back
>wall of my bladder and make the stubborn beast work less than it already
>does! So, self-catheterisation became a more frequent event in my
>day-to-day life.
>
>I had another exam with the physio, because I wanted to check if the
>exercises I was doing were working... yep, another internal, so all of
>that coupled with a three and a half hour bumpy car ride to Sydney from
>Bathurst left me feeling pretty yuk.... so I decided that collapsing in
>the foyer as we were leaving was a great way to protest about my pain...
>so here I am four weeks later after trying all sorts of things like
>rest, extra pain meds, all sorts of really exciting tests (none of them
>suitable for description here....for further details send a personal
>email ;-))
>
>So, I have come to the end of my choices and surgery on Thursday
>afternoon to remove the ovarian remnant, oh and just to make things a
>little more interesting, the remnant is in my cul-de-sac where yup you
>guessed it my worst adhesions live there in fact, my last gynaecologist
>said my cul-de-sac just doesn't exist anymore it's just adhesions.
>
>So fingers & toes crossed and so many people sending positive thoughts
>and prayers my way, hopefully this surgery will be the end to this part
>of my saga, and I can go back to pain management...mmm ... all though
>PAIN FREE would be nice... nahhhh better not get my hopes up too high!
>
>--
>Love and gentle hugs,
>Joanne Eslick
>Founder Australian Adhesions Support Group
>http://www.bombobeach.com
>Australian Co-ordinator of
>International Adhesions Society
>http://www.adhesions.org
>
>--
>I am not a medical person, and all my messages are based
>on personal experience. I am a fellow adhesions sufferer
>reaching out to help others.
>
--
Hi Your story sounds just like mine same problem I to am going in for sugery Thursday. When they did my surgery in Sept they left a small piece of ovary tissue and it has formed a rather large cyst that has caused horrible pain oyxcontin and demerol taken together are not helping the pain so they decided it was time to go back in. They say that because of all the adhesions they will have to open me up and go very slow to make sure they get it all out this time. I to wish this would end all the pain and the taking pain medication. Well I will keep you in my prayers, good luck.